Jerusalem: the Biography

Jerusalem: the Biography

By Simon Sebag Montefiore

 

                I was not sure what to expect from a book written as a biography of a place.  In some ways, Jerusalem: the Biography is a typical history of a city written for a mass audience. In other ways, it really is a biography; it is the story of the life of Jerusalem.

                Montefiore traces the story of Jerusalem from the earliest recorded periods in its history.   Unlike many books about the city, he goes beyond the struggle between the three Abrahamic faiths to look at how the many civilizations and uncivil rulers who have held Jerusalem over the last several millennia have shaped the personality of the city.  The book gives a sense of the layers and layers of complexity that make Jerusalem unique among all world cities.  

                Much of what he includes in the book is standard undergraduate history class fare.  I found myself skipping some sections that were not much more than a skimming over what I got in a sophomore class on Middle Eastern history or a seminary Old Testament survey class.  But between the less enlightening sections are stories of personalities and events that make the book well worth the read.  From villainous courtesans to maniacal local rulers to eccentric millionaires bent on recreating Eden in God’s city, the lesser known parts of Jerusalem’s history give Montefiore’s prose the feel of a real biography.  Some are humorous, others are downright disturbing.  Taken together, they make Jerusalem more than ancient stone structures and barren hillsides.

                Jerusalem: the Biography is not the best or most probing book on the history of Jerusalem, but it is certainly one of the most entertaining.